A Better Summer

Last summer was our first full summer in Minnesota.  It was unseasonably hot.  And annoying.  It topped one hundred degrees quite a few times.  On the forth of July last year, It got up to one hundred degrees with a real feel of one hundred and seven.  Here's proof:

Global warming isn't a real thing says the right wing crazies. Fuck you says I. pic.twitter.com/jeRXDTUa
— Michael Litzner (@Litzner) July 4, 2012

 This year, I believe the high on that exact same day was eighty five degrees.  A fifteen degree difference.  While it still felt warm, it was nice.  I sat out on the balcony with a beer and watched some fireworks courtesy of the neighbors.  When you are able to sit outside and enjoy the heat, you know something is going right.  The hot weather so far this year has been in the mid-nineties.  From what I can gather from people that have lived here most of their lives, this year is more normal weather-wise.  A few days that you just have to deal with it being uncomfortable and the rest are warm but tolerable.  This is the kind of summer I love. 

This week we have had a cool front come through.  Last night it was down to the lower fifties.  And when I woke up this morning it was overcast and in the sixties.  I know that there are people out there that will complain about it.  Saying that it's summer time and it should be warmer than this.  But then again, are these the same people that complain when it is too hot?  Personally, I would love it if the temperature never got about seventy five.  While living in Kansas, we dealt with the fact that in July and August that high eighties were going to be in the low and hitting triple digits were going to be a normal event.  

I'm a cold weather type of person.  I would rather have the option of bundling up with heavy coats, boots, hats, gloves, etc. than to sweat in shorts and a tee shirt.  The cold air smacking you in the face when you walk outside for the first time is great.  It takes your breath away for that split second and you have to stand there and regain your composure.  That is a lot better than getting hit with oppressive heat when you step outside of an air conditioned building.   Give me negative twenty over ninety any day of the week. 

That's Cat-tastic!

Back in April, we had to put our cat Libby to sleep.  It was a very very sad and very very difficult decision.  She wasn't the typical run around, meow at everything, be out and about cat.  She just kinda hung out.  Like a badass that didn't care if you thought she was around.  Very 'yeah, I'm here, what?'  Even though she wasn't always out and about, it was strange for a couple of months not having her around.  I would wake up in the morning for work and walk out and expect to see her out on the couch and she wasn't there.  We went three months without a cat.  It was a good time frame for mourning the loss of Libby.

While home, my wife adopted a kitten.  We named her Olive.  I missed out on Libby's kitten phase because I was still working in Michigan while my wife was down in Wichita.  So it's fun for me to play with Olive.  She is in her bite everything phase which we should break soon because we don't want a cat that bites as she grows up.  She'll play for quite a bit and then just fall asleep.  Every once in a while she'll randomly fall of the couch quite humorously.  She bounces right back like nothing happened.  The best part about having a kitten?  I can hold her in one hand.  That's how small she is right now.  

Absolute Queue Control

I have been home by myself since I have gotten back from vacation at the beginning of June.  Other than working, I have only done a handful of stuff other than work and drink.  I went out and explored a disc golf course.  It was a great way to spend a day off.  It was warm, but not too hot.  It was tolerable.  One thing that I have been doing is busting through our Netflix queue.  The way we handle our queue is alternate between movies/shows that either one of us wants to watch or one that we both want to watch.  It is easier when a disc that either my wife or I wanted.  We can watch it whenever we want and don't have to wait for the other to be in the mood to watch the movie or even be home. 

Anyway, below is a list of what I went through in the five weeks I have been on my own.  Pretty decent amount.  I tried my best to have a quick turn around on the discs to see as many as possible during my wife's absence.  I think eight movies in a month plus a week is a good number.  

• Zero Dark Thirty
• Seven Psychopaths
• City Lights
• Argo
• Mission:  Impossible III
• Mission:  Impossible Ghost Protocol
• Iron Sky
• Savages

Not only have I watched all those movies, I got through two and a half seasons of Mad Men.  I own all the seasons so it's not like they haven't been readily available, but the sixth season just wrapped up and I wanted a retrospective on the character development or decay.  It was great to see how some of them started and where they are now as the show is winding down.

On Wednesday my wife finally is coming home.  We will revert back to the way of alternating between movies that I want to watch and her movies.  We will also be able to squeeze in a movie or two that we both want to see.  

Erick Erickson: Worst Person in the World?

Social media is a great thing.  It allows instant access to people's thoughts and feelings on subjects they, and presumably you, are interested in.  It can also get you in a ton of trouble.  There are many sports teams that prevent athletes from going on websites such as Twitter during or directly after games or practices.  It gets written into contracts.  This is a good idea.  There have been plenty that have put their foot in their mouths and have either deleted the tweet or issued a bullshit apology.  Saying that 'your Twitter got hacked' is a horrible excuse for not thinking before tweeting.

At the end of last week, Texas passed House Bill 2 putting harsh restrictions on abortions.  It is since heading to Rick Perry's desk to be signed into law.  If anyone is curious, there was a Supreme Court decision in 1973 which made abortion legal in this country.  It goes by the name of Roe v. Wade.  Anyway, a Right Wing talking head by the name of Erick Erickson tweeted this out not long after the bill passed:

this is the tweet of a sociopath. RT @EWErickson: Dear Liberals, go bookmark this site now: http://t.co/4lpNThqhLI
— Lauren Rankin (@laurenarankin) July 13, 2013

Now let that link sink in for just a second.  Horrible right?  Erick Erickson contributes to Fox News and runs his own website (Redstate.com).  It is one thing to be very excited about something that you believe in getting passed in a state.  I know a ton of people that were happy when DOMA was struck down and when gay marriage was legalized in the state of Minnesota.  It is another thing to taunt those who oppose what you believe in.  And to do so in such a manner is unbecoming.  This guy is a douchebag, straight up.  He revels in his controversial statements and makes fake apologies.

Not long after he tweeted this, it was deleted, but not before people got a hold of it and went ranting and raving against him.  Listen, whether you are pro-choice or pro-life you have to look at this and think 'who the fuck does this?'  Who thinks that it is funny to link a site for hangers after an anti-abortion bill is passed?  Someone that is completely disconnected with not only reality but humanity as well.  

Fight the (A/C) Machine

It has been a little warm in Minnesota over the past month or so.  It gets up into the eighties during the day, but it cools down at night.  Last year it was crazy hot during the summer.  We ran our air conditioner quite a bit and it was glorious!  It was also expensive.  Because that's what air conditioners do.  Suck money and spit out cold, refreshing air.  I know there are hotter areas of the country right now, so just shut up.  It's hot and humid here. 

Since I have been back from vacation, I have refused to turn it on.  I can handle sitting in the apartment and sweating a little bit.  And besides, I'm gone to work for half the day.  When I get home, the high temperature of the day has all but passed so I just have to wait out the heat.  I have been using a couple of fans in the window and in the balcony door to circulate the air to try and cool down the apartment.  It works mostly.  There are points in the day when I want to just be cold.  This is why I miss winter.  You can bundle up in sweatshirts and jeans and wear slippers to keep your feet warm.  What can you do in the summer if you don't want to turn the A/C on?  Get naked?  That's about it.  Putting on shorts and a tee-shirt aren't going to cool you off.  Just the A/C will.  And if you don't want to pay for it, you are painted into a corner. 

I made it a point not to turn it on in the month of June.  I made it, and I was proud of myself.  Then I thought, the heat so far this month hasn't been too bad.  I can handle it for a little bit longer.  I'm sure that as July rolls into August, the heat and humidity will rise and we'll fall to the temptation to use the air conditioner.  Until that time, though, I stand defiant.  A little sweaty, but defiant nonetheless.